The NFL will make some of its on-field officials full-time employees, "taking a step that it long had contemplated as a possible means to improve the consistency and quality of its officiating," according to Mark Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. The NFL and the NFL Referees Association yesterday announced that between 21 and 24 officials "will be hired as full-time employees." The hires will "come from among the current roster of 124 officials." The full-time officials will be hired at each of the "seven on-field officiating positions, not only from among the referees who are the chiefs of the league’s 17 officiating crews" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/10). USA TODAY's Lindsay Jones notes previously all NFL officials were "part-time employees who held other jobs outside of their refereeing duties." The push to hire full-time officials has "intensified in recent years as criticism of officiating has intensified after several high-profile questionable calls" (USA TODAY, 8/10). CBS Sports Network's Adam Schein said, "We've been begging the league to do this. Eventually, it will greatly improve the quality of officiating" ("Time to Schein," CBSSN, 8/9). ESPN's Scott Van Pelt: "Hoo-freaking-ray! ... It should be more, but at least it’s a start. Pretty ridiculous to think that the folks out there trying to officiate this ever-changing set of rules are out schlepping insurance during the week” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 8/10). YAHOO SPORTS' Frank Schwab wrote the move still "won’t fix most of the complaints that come from fans." What it will do is "allow crews to have a better understanding of the rulebook" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/9).
TRIM THE FAT: PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio noted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s recent comments regarding the length of the preseason "serve as a clear reminder that the league still wants to swap fewer preseason games for more regular-season games." And that is "clearly what the league still wants, even if it no longer will say so." To reduce the preseason, the NFL "doesn’t need to bargain with the union." The '11 CBA gives the league the "right to do that unilaterally." The league "won’t voluntarily reduce revenue without a way to replace it, which is how collective bargaining comes into play" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/9).
KAEPERNICK SAGA CONTINUES: In Chicago, Madeline Kenney notes there is a planned pro-Colin Kaepernick "protest Sept. 10 before the Bears' regular-season opener against the Falcons at Soldier Field." There already are "more than 600 people on Facebook who’ve said they’re going to participate in the protest" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/10). Also in Chicago, Rick Morrissey writes, "A fist to the face is better than a knee on the ground." Morrissey: "That seems to be the mindset. I would have much more respect for owners, general managers and coaches if they said publicly that they find Kaepernick’s views about race and society too disruptive to their locker rooms or bottom lines. Or even that they find those views personally offensive. But they don’t. They don’t say anything, for the most part" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/10).
